For those United loyalists who want to book a seat on the airline’s last 747 flights, the carrier has set the schedule for the plane’s retirement later this year.

All the affected routes are out of San Francisco. According to Routesonline.com, the last 747-400 departure from SFO will be a flight to Seoul on October 28, returning October 29.

The schedule for other 747 retirement flights includes San Francisco-Beijing, SFO-Frankfurt, SFO-Taipei and SFO-Tokyo Narita, all set for October 28; a seasonal SFO-London flight through October 27; and SFO-Shanghai service through October 5.

Except for a 787-9 going onto the Shanghai route, the United 747s will be replaced by 777-200ERs. Routesonline notes that the schedule is subject to change.

Delta is also due to phase out its 747s this year. (Photo: Delta)

For nostalgia buffs, the website also posted a “flashback” to United’s January 1979 timetable, showing that the big plane was used on a number of domestic routes at the time. It flew from San Francisco to Honolulu, Newark (via Chicago), and New York JFK; from LAX to JFK, Honolulu and Denver; and from Chicago O’Hare to LAX, JFK, Toronto, Honolulu, Detroit and Denver.

Delta Air Lines is also due to take its remaining 747s out of service later this year, but has not yet issued a schedule, other than saying it will happen in the fourth quarter. For a final ride on a Delta 747, you can fly from Detroit to Tokyo or Seoul. And from Honolulu, Delta is still running the big bird nonstop to Kansai (KIX) near Osaka, Japan.

Korean Air 747-8 (Photo: Korean Air)

United and Delta are the last U.S. airlines to fly 747s. But the iconic wide-body will still be available from other carriers. British Airways, for instance, recently overhauled the interiors of its 747-400 fleet, and Lufthansa and Korean Air are flying the newer version of the aircraft, the 747-8. Air China flies a 747-8 between SFO and Beijing.

Chris flew on a Qantas 747-400 last year between SFO and Sydney- check out his Trip Report here.

How do you feel about the retirement of this grand old bird? Please leave your comments below.

If you’ve been hoping to book a final flight on a United 747 before the iconic jumbo jet is retired, you better start exploring your options before The Queen gets the boot.

Last year, United said it had set a target date of October 2018 to eliminate the remaining 747s from its fleet. But now that date has been moved up.

United President Scott Kirby said in a letter to employees this week that the company expects the final 747 flight to take place in the fourth quarter of 2017.

And the reason United is eager to remove the aging planes is largely economic. The 747 “once represented the state-of-the-art in air travel,” Kirby said. “Today, there are more fuel-efficient, cost-effective and reliable widebody aircraft that provide an updated inflight experience for our customers traveling on long-haul flights.”

Like United, Delta is starting to get rid of these graceful, gas guzzling old birds. (Photo: Delta)

United has been flying 747s since 1970. It is replacing its 747s with 777s and 787 Dreamliners on long-haul routes.

The earlier retirement of the planes will put United on a schedule similar to Delta’s, the only other U.S. carrier that still flies 747s. Delta also plans to get rid of its remaining 747s by the end of this year, replacing them with long-haul Airbus models including the A330 and the new A350.

It will be interesting to see whether Delta or United throws a better send off celebration. In today’s announcement, Kirby said, “we’ll honor the 747 with an unforgettable retirement celebration — we’ll keep you posted with more details on her final flight in the months ahead.”

We’ll be watching on that bittersweet day.

A fond farewell to Cathay’s Queen of the Skies at SFO in 2014 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

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Editor Chris McGinnis

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